Chapter Seven:
Hisashi's first reaction had been denial. When he'd returned home to find his precious twin brother gone, he'd gotten down on his hands and knees and felt around the vault like a madman, as if Yoichi could have somehow spontaneously developed an extra invisibility metapower. It did not seem possible that Yoichi could have been taken without Hisashi knowing it. They were two halves of the same whole. Hisashi had mostly convinced himself that he would know if something bad happened to his brother.
But Hisashi remembered the fateful first day of the Metahuman Riots, when he'd found the burning art studio and feared his brother might be inside. Then and there, Hisashi had realized magical twin telepathy didn't exist. His brother could be dead and he would not know it. He'd buried that knowledge because if he accepted it then he would be too terrified to ever let Yoichi out of the house.
What if Yoichi was already dead? What if the vigilantes had dragged him outside and shot him? Hisashi collapsed to the floor, curled up like a child, and wept.
He had not cried like this since he'd been a baby. He'd always needed to be the strong one, for his sick little brother. As a leader he could not afford to let his people see him show weakness. Years of pent-up emotions flowed out. Once he started crying, he couldn't stop.
Those INSIGNIFICANT vigilantes had dared steal away Hisashi's carefully hidden heart. Yoichi had picked those INSECTS over his own brother and now they'd both pay a price for it. After everything Hisashi had done to protect him HOW DARE HIS BROTHER STILL LEAVE HIM?! When Hisashi got Yoichi back, he'd rip off his arms and legs so he couldn't walk away ever again. Except then they wouldn't be identical. Maybe Hisashi could find a way to put Yoichi into a coma and only wake him up when Hisashi was present to watch over him. That would be perfect. A piece of himself didn't need the capability to move of its own will.
Hisashi hiccupped. Tears blurred the vault walls. He could barely breathe through his clogged nose and the weight on his chest. This was Yoichi's fault for giving the vigilantes coddling and warnings, but Hisashi also blamed himself for being gone. If only he'd moved his twin to his planned secure location sooner. Hisashi had failed as a protector. On second thought, Yoichi couldn't be blamed, Yoichi had never been strong enough to prevent himself from being taken. What if Yoichi was hurt? Images of his bruised, bleeding, and tortured twin flashed across his eyes.
Only the realization that his twin needed him let Hisashi stand up and wipe his snotty nose. There was no blood in the vault. The vigilantes would not kill Yoichi right away. He was a valuable source of information and a potential hostage. Yoichi had always been charming and clever. Surely he would drag out the interrogation as long as possible. Yoichi needed his brother to save him. When Hisashi found his twin, he would soothe his wounds and care for him. Then Yoichi would be properly grateful and understand why he needed to live in his new isolated room from now on. Their brotherly bond would be mended. No limb removal or medically implausible coma would be necessary, because Yoichi would never try to leave again.
Hisashi headed for the door, straightening his collar as he made plans. He had to hurry. Even now, his precious twin might be weeping for his big brother to come save him.
Yoichi nearly wept from happiness to feel sunlight on his face again, to taste fresh air, and most of all to hear human voices besides his horrible brother. The words washed over him pleasantly even if, at the moment, they weren't very nice.
"Shouldn't we put him in handcuffs? And blindfold him?" Sanzou whispered.
Yoichi was currently sitting in the backseat of a car, sticking his head out the open window in a frankly very dangerous way. He sucked in outdoor air through his mouth. Even over the roar of the car, he picked up on Sanzou's low words. He'd always had good hearing.
"I guess it would be better if he doesn't know the base location," Kaiji mumbled. "But it doesn't feel right."
Even though Kaiji looked gruff (in his handsome way), with his wild spiky red hair and his perpetual scowl, Yoichi had already identified him as the soft touch of the duo. With a little pleading and pathetic eyes, Kaiji would probably give up on binding him. However, Yoichi actually considered it a good sign that they didn't want him to know the location of their base. That meant they were at least considering letting him go after the interrogation. Yoichi had absolutely nowhere to go, but the thought counted.
"It's okay," Yoichi said, pulling his head back in from the window. "I don't mind. I understand that you need to take precautions." He held out his wrists. At this point in time, it was better to build trust than protest. Yoichi didn't have any idea where he was anyway, since he'd passed out for part of the trip. What good would sight do him?
"Thank you for understanding." Sanzou sat adjacent to Yoichi in the back seat, the better to keep an eye on him no doubt. The blue-haired man wore a bandana around his high ponytail. He had muscles and intriguing tattoos peeking out of his shirt sleeve. Yoichi had always been attracted to men with scars and tattoos. He'd identified Sanzou as the one holding the brain cell. Sanzou seemed less easy to manipulate. But his hands had been kind when he'd tended to Yoichi's scrapes and bruises with their first aid kit. Those hands were equally gentle as he fastened handcuffs on Yoichi's wrists, then placed a blindfold over his eyes.
As soon as the blindfold went on, Yoichi panicked. Darkness was all around him, just like the vault. He slipped out of the handcuffs and ripped off the blindfold.
Sanzou stared, open-mouthed, at the cuffs fallen to the car floor. Yoichi knew how to get out of handcuffs, but his wrists were so skinny he hadn't needed any tricks. They'd just fallen off.
Clutching the blindfold, Yoichi swallowed. It made his sore throat ache. "I-I'm sorry. I reacted on instinct, because…it was dark…"
Sanzou's face melted into sympathy. "Oh, dear. I should have known. It doesn't look like the cuffs would do any good anyway."
"Forget the shitty blindfold," Kaiji said. "We're taking you to one of our less important, small bases. We have safehouses set up all over Japan, and we can abandon this one easily. I don't care if you know the location."
Yoichi smiled. "Thank you, my hero."
The tips of Kaiji's ears turned bright red, though he didn't take his eyes off the road. He was driving fast, as suited the urgency of the situation, but with clear skill. Yoichi had always liked competency in his men. It was such a shame that men competent enough to attract Yoichi tended to be smart enough to be scared of his brother.
"You don't need to worry about me trying to run away," Yoichi said. "I'll be clinging to you with all my might. Without protection, I'd be captured by my brother again, and—" he shuddered "—I'd rather die."
"Stop talking about dying," Kaiji said gruffly. "If you want to make your brother pay, then you've gotta live."
Sanzou said, "We've taken in people fleeing both the military and All for One before. Only some of them turned out to be spies." He smiled in a way that made it clear this was at least partly a joke. "Some of our strongest allies were defectors. And plenty of us are here because our families threw us out for being metahuman. We'll give you a chance, no matter who you're related to."
"I admire you for protecting those fleeing from the military from my brother. That's one of the reasons we fought." Yoichi hesitated. Surely it would help his case if he admitted he'd helped the vigilantes. He would have thought about that sooner, if his head hadn't been muddled. But what if they didn't believe him? Could he prove it? He strained his memory for the exact message. "I was the one who sent you the email warning about his attack." Yoichi recited the body of the email, as well as he could remember.
Sanzou startled, staring at him. Kaiji muttered, "Damn. That was what got you sent to the creepy room?"
"One of the reasons," Yoichi said. "We had a bigger disagreement about All for One's future plans for Japan." And their familial dynamics, but that felt too personal to talk about.
Kaiji grunted. "A lot of people got deluded into believing All for One's blabber about saving Japan. Hell, even I…briefly wondered. I didn't realize the shithead tried that nonsense on his own family too."
"We owe you," Sanzou said. "Your warning saved a lot of lives. I won't lie and say I completely trust you. But I'll make it clear to everyone that you're our guest, not our prisoner."
"Thanks," Yoichi whispered. He leaned back in his seat. Tears stung his eyes. He wished this trip would end faster. He wouldn't feel safe from his brother until he was out of the city in a private location. Perhaps not even then.
The wooden vigilante base was large to be called a log cabin, but too small to be a fortress. The oak building had two stories with a pointed roof and a stone chimney. Lights glowed from the windows above. Sanzou hopped out of the car to open the gate in the crude log wall. The symbol of Sunrise had been sprayed on the wall in yellow paint: it looked like a wispy question mark with a spiral on top. Both Kaiji and Sanzou wore a small golden pin with the same emblem. Comparatively, Hisashi marked his people with tattoos reading "AFO" because he was a big fan of the notion they could never leave.
A cemetery surrounded the building. The headstones had clearly not been professionally made, being a mixture of shapes with names shallowly scratched on. As Kaiji parked his car next to two other vehicles, his gaze fixed on a square block of limestone not far from the door. "Oh, they already buried the body." His jaw clenched.
Sanzou touched his arm. "Ka—" He stopped. "Gearshift, we'll have a funeral later."
"I already know your names," Yoichi said. "You were both high enough up in Sunrise for us to have files on you. Uh, we only have your first names, though." He coughed. Talking hurt his throat. Even breathing hurt.
"We both discarded our last names a long time ago," Kaiji said distantly. He didn't seem to be paying attention, his eyes still focused on the gravestone. He got out of the car, walked over, and bowed his head.
Sanzou followed and put his arm around Kaiji. Their heads touched. Sanzou brushed back Kaiji's hair in an intimate matter, then murmured something in his ear. Kaiji exhaled, then hugged Sanzou so tightly he seemed to be trying to meld their bodies together.
Yoichi had always been good at reading body language, and he picked up on romantic vibes with a ninety-nine percent certainty. Even though it felt like a century had passed since he'd flirted with Kaiji, he felt a small flicker of disappointment and jealousy. What had been going on with that kiss, then? Kaiji seemed like the very straightforward and honest type. Maybe this relationship was new, or maybe they were open. But just in case he'd misjudged and Kaiji was a cheater, Yoichi thought it better to keep the kiss a secret. He already had the baggage of being All for One's brother without being resented by Sanzou for being the other man.
And Sanzou wasn't available either! Ugh, just Yoichi's luck to be rescued by two handsome heroes who were dating each other. It never went like that in the comic books. He hovered, not wanting to disrupt their moment.
Reading the name on the headstone, Yoichi's eyes widened. "Kenta Iguchi?"
Sanzou turned around. "You knew him?"
"We never met, but I know he was one of the metahumans working for the military. My brother really wanted his mole metapower."
"All for One did steal his power before murdering him. He found the people we were protecting while we were distracted by the terrorists." Kaiji's face twisted with an ugly fury. "Kenta was just sixteen years old. I've still got his blood on my shirt, along with some other good people." He gestured at the stains. "It might have gotten on you now that I've carried you."
Yoichi flinched, checking his body. "I'm sorry," he whispered. His knees wobbled.
"You didn't do it." Sanzou came over and offered Yoichi his arm. "You were imprisoned by then. Leader, calm down."
"Yeah." Kaiji grunted. He looked like he might be about to apologize, but he didn't in the end. He supported Yoichi's other side as they limped for the door.
Yoichi felt very glad he hadn't gotten an apology, because it would have made him hate himself even more. Yoichi's information network had been instrumental in identifying the abilities of the Special Power Military Team. He hadn't wanted the military defectors dead, he'd even tried to stop it, but with all the hard work he'd poured into his brother's organization, he couldn't lie to himself that his hands were clean. Of the many people dead in this cemetery, how many deaths had Yoichi indirectly contributed to?
The trio climbed up the steps to a wooden porch. Sanzou pulled out a key from around his neck and unlocked the green front door.
The interior had high tan walls with a kitchen to the left and a living room to the right. The hallway was messy, with many pairs of shoes, a toolbox and a fallen umbrella lying on the floor. Clothing had been flung over the banister of the stairway leading to the second story.
A woman sat on a curved grey couch, watching television. She hit pause. Though Yoichi wasn't sure about the exact animal, she clearly had a bird mutation: feathers poked out from behind her ears and her fingers had claws on the end. Her nose was not quite a beak but clearly curved like one. She was short, very muscular, and had a dark brown bob. Since she didn't have wings, she probably couldn't fly, though more feathers poked out from her sleeves. She wore jeans and a sweatshirt with a porcupine on front. Upon seeing Yoichi, she leapt to her feet. "Holy shit, the clone theory was real?"
"That's what I said." Sanzou snorted. "Meet Yoichi Shigaraki, All for One's brother. He's not a clone. He was being held prisoner in a bank vault and needs immediate medical attention. Yoichi, this is Sparrow."
"Please to meet you," Yoichi said weakly, then coughed up blood. Gods, his head hurt. Everything hurt.
"Holy shit," Sparrow repeated. "I'll find Migraine." She ran out of the room.
Kaiji grabbed a tissue and mopped at Yoichi's nose. "Do you want me to carry you to the infirmary?"
"I can make it." Yoichi gritted his teeth and put one foot in front of the other. He wasn't as comfortable letting Kaiji carry him now, maybe because of guilt from seeing the gravestone or maybe because of the boyfriend, it was all a jumble in his head.
The infirmary was located just down the hallway. It was clearly a former office room that had been converted for medical use. The shelves were stocked with medicine and equipment. A single blue bed in the middle had a ring of surrounding curtains. Yoichi collapsed onto the bed with a liquid-filled cough.
A newcomer ran into the room. He had black hair and glasses with a thin gold frame. He wore a collared grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Eyes on Yoichi, he asked, "Is he our prisoner or did you rescue him?"
Sanzou glanced at Kaiji.
Kaiji said, "We're going with guest. He clearly needed rescuing when we found him."
With unnatural cheer, Yoichi said, "If my brother gets his hands on me then he'll torture me again, so I'll beg you for the privilege of being your prisoner if necessary."
The doctor's face softened. "Please hold out your hand."
"Why do they call you Migraine?" Yoichi asked as the doctor took his wrist.
Migraine replied, "My power lets me see the medical condition of anyone I touch. But it gives me a migraine whenever I use it. Aargh!" His face scrunched up. He sat down on his stool and took deep breaths, seeming unable to speak.
"That's rough," Yoichi said.
After a moment, Migraine said, "There are no trackers on you."
Yoichi had already told Kaiji and Sanzou that. His brother hadn't ever let him out of the vault long enough to implant anything. Hisashi probably hadn't seen it as necessary, with his twin locked up in a metal box. However Yoichi supposed the vigilantes wouldn't have just taken his word for it, understandably.
Migraine continued, "You've got a stockpiling metapower very recently added and let me tell you, it's not melding well with your body."
"Recently?" Kaiji's head swiveled to look at Yoichi.
"My brother forced a power on me." Yoichi coughed again. "He seemed to think it would make me do whatever he wanted. He wasn't acting very rationally at the time."
Shaking his head, Sanzou said, "Awful. I've seen what people look like when All for One gives them incompatible powers, and it's not pretty."
The room was full of sympathetic gazes. Yoichi didn't think he deserved that sympathy, not after years of eagerly supporting Hisashi's theft on the grounds that Hisashi had always claimed he needed to take powers. But Yoichi would still use every last drop of sympathy he could get. He needed these people to like him if he had any hope of staying free. He widened his eyes and looked pitiful.
"You might adapt with time." Migraine rubbed his forehead, his words a little unsteady. "Physical training could help you get better control over the power."
"Stockpiling hasn't done anything, yet," Yoichi said.
Migraine said, "You're malnourished and you have scars on your throat from the force-feeding." This drew more intakes of breath from the other two. "I'm going to put you on an IV with vitamins, saline, and low-level immune boosters. But first, we need to clean you off. I'll help you shower." He held out his arm.
"No," Yoichi snapped, automatic and sharp. Blurry memories flashed across his mind: unable to move, unable to do anything as the wet cloth touched his body.
"I'm a doctor. It's strictly professional," Migraine said. "I can't in good conscience let you shower alone. In your current state, you could easily fall in the bathtub and break your neck."
"Don't you dare touch me." Yoichi moved in a blur, plastering his body against the door.
Everyone stared. As Yoichi started to come back down from the high of terror, his cheeks flushed.
Kaiji suggested, "What if we put a chair in the shower?"
"That's a good idea," Sanzou said. "We've got a folding chair that should be waterproof, or close enough."
Migraine nodded. "Make sure you put the toiletries on the floor, within easy reach. And someone needs to stay by the door in case he slips."
The heat faded from Yoichi's cheeks as his racing heart calmed down. They weren't going to force him. "Thanks," he mumbled.
"I took a Hippocratic Oath," Migraine said, adjusting his glasses. "I'll never carry out any medical procedure without your consent."
Yoichi could start to believe it.
Yoichi had such a difficult time showering, he had to admit the doctor had a point. By the time he stood up and turned the water off, he felt drained. He barely managed to dry himself off and slip on his new clothing: a pair of grey slacks and a button-up striped shirt. He'd borrowed Migraine's clothes because no one else was tall enough.
Looking at his reflection in the steamy mirror, Yoichi saw a gaunt stranger with hollowed-out eyes. He'd lost his hard-earned muscle. At least his skinniness and his long, messy hair made him look less like his brother. Yoichi never wanted to look like Hisashi ever again.
Kaiji waited for him outside the bathroom. He asked, "Would you like to meet everyone?"
By that point Yoichi just wanted to collapse, but he also had a desperate need to know who else was in the house. He wanted to get a read on who might sneak into his bedroom and try to murder him for revenge. "Yes, but let's make it quick," he muttered.
Kaiji helped him into the living room. "You know Sparrow." He waved at the dark-haired woman on the couch. "This is Two-Step." He pointed at a younger woman with lavender hair and light grey eyes. She waved.
"Nice to meet you." Yoichi tried to bow and nearly fell over. "If it's not rude to ask, what's your metapower? I'm curious because of your name."
"Nice to meet you too," Two-Step said cheerfully. "I can teleport, but my range is limited to about a city. I do it by taking one step on my current location, then the next step I'm in a new place."
"Whoa, that's absolutely fascinating. Do you need to have been to the location before? Can you move other people? Can you move large objects? Can you use your hands to step instead?"
"Nope, yes, yes, and I've never tried that." Two-Step laughed. "You're an interesting one! I think I like you. We'll keep you safe. Fuck All for One! Except not like how Leader tried to do it."
Kaiji groaned and covered his red face. "It was just a damn kiss! All for One never even saw my peashooter so he had no grounds to talk so much shit about it. Will all of you never let that go?"
"Never," Sparrow said. "It's already permanently written into the team rules." She pointed at a whiteboard on the wall, where rule #1 was: No Kissing All for One!
Yoichi choked, then faked a cough to hide it. So everyone did know about that, then.
"Hey, are you okay?" Kaiji handed Yoichi a tissue.
"I'm fine." Yoichi groped for an excuse. "I just thought you were together with Sanzou…"
"We are." Kaiji shrugged. "We're polyamorous. Though Sanzou vetoed All for One. I swear it wasn't as big a thing as these shitheads are determined to make it. He distracted me with a kiss to steal my phone, I learned an expensive lesson, end of story."
Yoichi felt a brief thrill to learn he still had a chance with his heroes, but then he felt silly because neither Kaiji nor Sanzou would want All for One's brother anyway.
Kaiji said, "Now you've met all of Team Alpha. There are only five of us living here. Sunrise has spread out to a bunch of small cells to lay low after the attack." It went unspoken that Yoichi would not be given any information about the rest of the organization. Honestly it had already been foolish enough of them to let him so close to their leader. Kaiji continued. "We're hiding and sheltering at the moment, so you can take some time to recover. I'll ask you questions tomorrow. You look too tired tonight."
Swaying, Yoichi said, "That would be much appreciated." The vigilantes had been kinder to him than he deserved. He didn't think they would murder him in his sleep.
Kaiji helped him back into the infirmary and Migraine put in the IV. Once the curtains around his bed closed, Yoichi fell asleep almost immediately. As it turned out, sleeping alone felt great.
Kaiji could not shake the feeling that he'd met Yoichi Shigaraki before. It was probably just the physical resemblance to All for One. Except the brothers didn't seem that similar to him—Yoichi had a dangerous magnetism whereas All for One just annoyed Kaiji every time he opened his big mouth. Their mannerisms were very different. All for One moved like a bulldozer whereas Yoichi walked in graceful silence. All for One favored sweeping gestures and had a maniac energy whereas Yoichi chose his words and actions with care. In the doctor's office, Yoichi had exaggerated his pitifulness (yes, Kaiji had noticed that) in a way that All for One's pride never would have allowed.
Over the next week, as Yoichi recovered from his starvation and his cheeks filled out, he'd become even more handsome. At least this proved Kaiji hadn't been crazy for being attracted to a starved man in a vault. Apparently some lucky people just looked good under any circumstances. Whenever Yoichi smiled, it was like watching the sun peek out from the clouds. It briefly chased away the shadows around his eyes. Kaiji had an urge to make him smile more often. He needed to keep that temptation under control. It would be dangerous to trust All for One's brother too much. At this point, they didn't know if Yoichi was lying about arguing with his brother for ethical reasons. Perhaps their fallout had just been about power, and Yoichi intended to use the vigilantes to take control of the family crime syndicate. But it was impossible not to feel sorry for Yoichi when he was so thin and clearly scared of being touched.
Yoichi was also a goldmine of information. The next morning after he woke up, he willingly answered all of Kaiji's questions about All for One's organization. It soon became obvious that it would take more than one interrogation session to get all the information. Looking over the records, half-jokingly, Sanzou had said, "I'm very glad you didn't splatter his valuable brains across the vault wall." Rescuing Yoichi had already paid off all their risks in exchange for this incredible intel.
Although Sunrise was currently laying low, Kaiji was in close communication with his teams across Japan. The information he'd been passing along had been instrumental to helping the vigilantes hide from All for One.
When Yoichi spoke of his brother, his gaze was sad and his body language closed off. All for One must have once completely trusted Yoichi to let him so deep into his organization. Kaiji wondered what had gone wrong if brothers used to be so close.
It was not a question he asked. He kept the interrogation strictly professional. He avoided prying into the parts that had left Yoichi with physical and emotional scars. Pretty much everyone in Sunrise knew what it felt like to have scars. People didn't join vigilante organizations unless they had a lot of rage, nowhere else to go, or both.
Yoichi nearly cried when Sanzou gave him some decent grease-fighting shampoo and a nice strawberry-scented conditioner. The vigilantes had enough supplies to last a few months and no intention of going shopping, so Yoichi could not get his favorite hair care products. But Sanzou had found a slightly better brand in the bottom of a box.
Every single shower left Yoichi exhausted. He felt a bit pathetic for still needing to sit on the chair while washing himself. He lived in hope his health would improve as he moved off a liquid diet. He'd been coughing a lot and getting terrible headaches. Despite sleeping for ten hours a day, he still felt tired. The doctor said his body was still adjusting to his new metapower. The stupid power was making him sick, and it had yet to do a single useful thing.
Yoichi had spent his entire life wanting and begging his brother for a meta ability, only for it to make him miserably sick. Now he was starting to wonder if his original metapower had made him sick, too. It seemed an interesting coincidence that Yoichi had been released from the hospital not long after his brother had accidentally taken his power.
Then Hisashi had believed himself to be lying about Yoichi's body being too weak to handle a metapower, but he'd actually been telling the truth all along. It was ironic, and not in a good way. Of course, at this point, after the vault and all the lies, this knowledge changed nothing.
After dressing, Yoichi wiped off the mirror and examined his reflection. Despite his careful shampooing for a couple days, his beloved hair still looked a mess. It clearly had not grown out completely even. Yoichi took down a pair of nail-clipping scissors from the cabinet. (It pleased him the vigilantes didn't hide sharp objects from him. They'd been true to their word about treating him as a guest.)
He preferred long hair. When his hair got long it didn't curl, so he looked less like his twin. But those split ends desperately needed to be straightened. Hopefully he could make it a little better with the nail clippers.
But even though Yoichi tried very hard to make a straight cut around his head, when he looked at himself in the mirror, his hair had become even more uneven. At the horrific sight, his cheeks paled. He looked like a hillbilly! This was a disaster! He tried to trim again, more slowly and carefully this time. His hand slipped and he cut off too much of a lock. He screamed in frustration.
"Yoichi!" Kaiji cried. "Did you slip in the shower? I'm coming to help!" He threw open the door.
Pouting, Yoichi grumbled, "I cut my hair wrong, that's all. There was no need to barge in."
Red eyes racked him. Kaiji laughed. "That is one fugly haircut!"
"With such charm and tact, I have no idea how you won over Sanzou," Yoichi growled.
"He says that all the time," Kaiji said. "Just lucky, I guess." A fond smile played on his lips. "Ugh, you didn't lay down a towel to catch the hair?"
"I didn't think about it," Yoichi admitted. "I've never done this before. It's harder than it looks." He glanced down at the little white hairs he'd left all over the sink. "I'll clean that up later."
"You should have come to me for help," Kaiji said. "I give haircuts to everyone on the base."
"Hmmm…"
"Are you judging my abilities?"
"I'm coming to a positive judgment! Everyone's hair looks straight." Yoichi wouldn't have called them professional-level haircuts but it was clearly better than he could do. He batted his eyelashes. "Please come to my rescue again, my hero."
Kaiji snorted. "I'll do my best to save you from yourself, you villain. Follow me."
"I'd like to keep it as long as possible," Yoichi said, trailing after. "Please." He hesitated to admit how important this was to him. Probably it wouldn't be possible. He supposed he'd be stuck with short hair and no one to blame but himself.
First Kaiji laid down paper towels around the porch, then he put a folding chair on top, then he directed Yoichi to sit down and tied a makeshift bib around his neck using a kitchen towel. "See, I have a proper pair of hair-cutting scissors. Much better than that butchery you were doing to yourself. Lean back."
There was something charming about a short king who knew how to take charge. Yoichi liked this new and unexpected dimension of competence. He liked Kaiji's sunset red hair and vermillion eyes. He liked those muscles. Kaiji had the toughness of a terrier. Yoichi would need to bend down to kiss him, and he'd been thinking about it. A lot. There wasn't much else to do to entertain himself during the long interrogations.
When Kaiji's hands brushed Yoichi's hair, inspecting it, Yoichi sighed and relaxed into the touch. It felt good to have contact with another human being besides his brother. For too long, he'd been denied even such small, simple interactions. He closed his eyes and tried not to fret too much about his hair.
"You can open your eyes now," Kaiji said. He handed Yoichi a mirror. "What do you think?"
Yoichi turned his head, looking from all angles. Miraculously, his hair still reached his shoulders. Kaiji had barely cut anything off while using layers to disguise the too-short lock. Long bangs framed his face. Most importantly, he did not look like his brother. Hisashi had always favored a very traditional, businesslike look. Yoichi smiled. "It looks…good!"
"There's no need to sound so surprised," Kaiji grumbled.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved my hair!" On an impulse, Yoichi flung his arms around Kaiji. "You're a hero!"
"This haircut will go down in history as my greatest deed," Kaiji joked.
"Do you have any hair dye at the base?" Yoichi asked. "What about piercings? Tattoos?" He felt a giddy desire to continue his amazing transformation into his own person.
"Slow your roll, you're not on a damn reality TV show," Kaiji said. "I don't think we currently have hair dye. Tattoos and piercings, you'll get done professionally if you have any common sense."
Yoichi let go of the vigilante leader and tucked back his hair. "I just…I don't want to look like my brother."
Kaiji's face melted into an understanding look. "I'll ask Sanzou if he can find hair dye. He's the only person who can find anything around here. For what it's worth, I don't think you two look the same. Sure, there might be superficial physical similarities, but your mannerisms and personalities are completely different. I find it hard to believe that you could pass as his double around people who knew either of you very well."
It's not as if you could tell the difference when you first met me, Yoichi thought. But he appreciated the sentiment. "Oh, I always acted differently when I pretended to be All for One. I know my brother's habits. I put on this whole dramatic villain act."
Kaiji snorted. "It must have been quite a strain, pretending to be that shitty narcissist."
"It could be quite fun." Yoichi learned closer, letting his eyes half-lid and his voice drop an octave as he slipped into villain character. He purred, "Such a foolish hero. You're so relaxed I could steal your weapon." Opening his palm, he revealed the salon scissors he'd pickpocketed.
Kaiji's jaw hung open. "It's you! You're the articulate All for One!"
"Pardon?"
Kaiji's cheeks puffed up, red with fury. "You're the one I met first! You pretended to be your brother and kissed me! Dammit, I knew something had changed about All for One when I met him in the forest. How could anyone go from charming and handsome to obnoxious and ugly so quickly?"
"Y-you noticed the difference? You figured out it was me? You think that I'm a cooler villain than my brother?" Yoichi's entire world rewrote itself. For the first time in his life, someone had been able to tell when he was pretending to be his brother. Someone saw him as different. Someone compared them in a positive way, calling Yoichi the more articulate one instead of the weak, useless one. He started to smile. "This is amazing!"
Kaiji grabbed Yoichi by his collar and dragged him down to eyelevel. "Don't you smile at me, asshole! You stole my phone!"
"For what it's worth, I regret that. Back then, I sincerely wanted to work with you. I defected from my brother's side shortly afterward." Playfully, Yoichi leaned forward so their noses touched. "I particularly regret it because while I was running off with your phone, I missed out on my chance to take you upstairs."
"Y-you!" Kaiji stumbled backward, red all over. "Who says I would have, huh?"
Yoichi had discovered great delight in making Kaiji blush. He wondered how many more times he could coax out that delicious color. Impishness taking him over, he said, "I owe you for the phone. How would you like to collect, my hero? I'll do anything." He looked under his eyelashes, promising all sorts of enticements.
Still flushed, Kaiji demanded, "Don't try to pretty your way out of this! You're going to clear my name and explain to Sanzou and all my comrades that I didn't kiss All for One."
Yoichi asked, "What difference does it make when you thought you were kissing All for One? It would reflect poorly on your judgment either way."
"It proves that I have taste!" Kaiji cried.
"I'm flattered."
Kaiji snorted. "Don't be all that flattered—anyone is better than All for One."
"Hey!" Yoichi's hair stood on end. Indignation wiped the smirk off his face. Then and there, he resolved to seduce Kaiji. That would show him.
Kaiji grabbed Yoichi's arm and dragged him into the infirmary. Migraine was busy organizing bottles. Yoichi felt a tad guilty he'd taken over the doctor's office for sleeping. He'd been offered the sofa, but he didn't feel comfortable falling asleep unless he had a door he could close and lock at night. So he was still borrowing the infirmary bed, which was a bit hard but serviceable.
"Hmm?" Migraine looked up. "Is Yoichi feeling unwell? Hey, nice haircut."
Kaiji growled, "I kissed Yoichi, not All for One."
For a moment, the doctor looked confused, then his face cleared. "Oh, is that why you kept insisting All for One got uglier the second time you met him?"
"Kaiji said that?" Yoichi asked, secretly very flattered.
Migraine nodded. "Yeah, and he claimed All for One must have used a charm power, because his second impression was so different."
"Oh, my." Yoichi grinned. He felt even more pleased that Kaiji had noticed the difference between him and his twin right away, before Yoichi had even given him a hint with the stolen scissors and villainous flirting.
"We're not done yet." Kaiji shoved Yoichi out the door and into the living room. Sparrow and Two-Step sat on the sofa, playing cards. Kaiji cried, "I never kissed All for One! It was Yoichi serving as his body double. I demand that you remove rule number one from the whiteboard. Yoichi, clear my name."
Pushing back a lock of hair, Yoichi smiled charmingly. "I can confirm Kaiji's story."
"Huh." Sparrow blinked and set down her cards face-down. "Then I wonder why All for One went around telling everyone that Kaiji sucked at it."
"He what? But he never even knew about the kiss." Yoichi pursed his lips. If Hisashi had known then he would have flipped out, the overprotective jerk. "It must have been a misunderstanding."
Two-Step raised an eyebrow. "We only heard this secondhand, but apparently All for One told his people that our leader had a peashooter and a very disappointing performance in bed. They've been taunting us about it whenever we encounter them."
Kaiji moaned and rubbed his forehead. "Don't remind me. You lot only made things worse by counterarguing that I was the one who dumped All for One when we never dated. We never even kissed as it turns out."
"It was definitely a misunderstanding. My brother isn't the type to run around pretending he's slept with people to humiliate them. He would consider frat boy behavior far beneath him." Yoichi leaned an arm on Kaiji's shoulder. "I can restore your leader's honor and confirm that he's an excellent kisser. As for his dick, I haven't seen it…yet."
Kaiji dissolved into a blushing, stammering mess. His mouth opened several times without managing to produce coherent words. He glared, and Yoichi winked in return. This only made Kaiji blush harder.
Two-Step said, "So we can erase rule number one off the whiteboard. Or do we replace it with No Kissing All for One's Blood Relatives?"
Sparrow shrugged. "Since Yoichi is on our side now, Kaiji can kiss him if he wants." She went to grab the eraser.
"That would be up to Sanzou," Two-Step replied. She raised her voice. "Hey! Fa Jin! Have you heard the big news yet?"
"What news?" Sanzou entered, wearing an apron. He was the group's main cook and must have been making dinner. He looked over at Kaiji, who shook, stuttered, and occasionally waved his hands. "What did you do to break my boyfriend?"
Two-Step said, "He just realized that he kissed Yoichi pretending to be All for One when they first met."
"Didn't we all know that since the first interrogation?" Sanzou looked around the room. "Yoichi admitted that he served as All for One's body double at non-important meetings, and it explained why 'All for One' acted strange at their first meeting and appeared different later. I thought we all knew and we just weren't talking about it in case Yoichi felt awkward. Was it just me?"
The stunned stares around the room confirmed that yes, it had been only Sanzou who'd figured it out. Two-Step recovered first. "Then do you veto Yoichi or not?"
Sanzou fixed Yoichi with a piercing gaze that seemed to look straight through him. Yoichi squirmed, wondering if it was strange that being so thoroughly dissected made him a bit turned on. It must be his competence kink again. Somehow with only his eyes, Sanzou threatened to end Yoichi if he ever hurt Kaiji…and Yoichi was into it.
Sanzou shrugged, then said, "He passes." He patted Kaiji on the shoulder. "Good luck."
"Yes! It's open season now!" Yoichi pumped a fist in the air.
"Like hell!" Kaiji bellowed. His face, if possible, turned even redder. He whirled on Yoichi. "You stole my phone, you shitty thief. What would possibly make you think you can waltz back in so easily and seduce me again, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?"
Yoichi flipped back his hair. "I'm very pretty."
"You are," Sanzou agreed. "A good kisser too, I assume. You should have seen how hung up Kaiji was on you even after you stole his phone."
Pointing at Sanzou, Kaiji declared, "You're a goddamn traitor. Also, Yoichi wants to dye his hair, please help him." Then he stormed out of the room.
Standing in the bathroom, Sanzou explained, "Black hair dye is a valuable commodity, and as soon as we get it, we pass it along to metahumans who need it to hide and survive. None of us living here dye our hair, so we don't normally purchase other colors. But I found a bottle of purple hair dye that someone mistook for black while shopping." He held it up. "Fortunately, you have naturally white hair so there's no need to bleach it first. If you're content with purple, I can dye your hair for you."
"You've done this before?" Yoichi asked, trying not to sound nervous. He'd only just gotten his hair into acceptable shape. He didn't want to mess it up again. Would the purple clash with his eyes?
"I used to dye my hair black so I could work a construction job. I was lying about a lot of things, including my name and age, but it wasn't the type of job where anyone asked questions. Then one day, I used Fa Jin to stop an accident. That evening, I was ambushed by a group of concerned citizens who did this." Sanzou jerked up his bandana to reveal a brand of the letter M. "There hasn't been any point in trying to hide my hair color since then."
"I'm so sorry," Yoichi said. He tried not to stare at the brand.
Sanzou half-shrugged. "It was a long time ago."
Since Sanzou didn't seem to want to talk about it any further, Yoichi changed the subject. "Would I be able to dye my hair back if I change my mind?"
"Sorry, not without bleach. It's harder to go to a lighter color. Do you want to take more time to think about it? We're in no rush."
"No, I really want to change my hair. I don't want to see…him…in the mirror." Yoichi took a deep breath. "I don't know why I'm so nervous."
"Change is scary. Especially with hair as fabulous as yours."
"Thank you for noticing." Yoichi flipped back his hair. "It used to be even fluffier."
"I'm sure," Sanzou said, straight-faced. "What if you start off with a purple streak? If you don't like it, then you could easily change your hairstyle to hide it. If you do, we can add more."
"What an excellent idea!" Yoichi beamed.
Sanzou put on rubber gloves, then mixed the dye in a bowl. "A purple streak in the front will look cool. Sit down, I'll take care of you."
As Yoichi sat on the shower chair, he knew instinctively that he could, in fact, trust Sanzou to take care of everything. From the moment they'd met, Sanzou had given off a feeling of reliability and loyalty. Clearly he would follow his leader/lover to hell and bring along fireproof boots for the journey. After being betrayed by his own twin, Yoichi craved that stability and trustworthiness. He wished someone would look at him the way Sanzou looked at Kaiji—that exasperated fondness, devotion, and total determination to fulfill his will. But Yoichi doubted that he deserved it. He was a former villain. Despite his big words earlier, he did not feel worthy of dating either of his heroes. He felt like an evil fairy who'd snuck into a christening, counting on everyone else to be too polite or terrified to tell him to leave.
Such depressing thoughts distracted Yoichi from paying attention while Sanzou painted dye into his hair with an old toothbrush. Each touch was careful. For a man with such big hands, Sanzou had very fine control. Yoichi swallowed, suddenly distracted by different thoughts.
Finally, Sanzou covered the dyed lock in aluminum foil to stop it from touching the rest of the hair. "This will take twenty minutes to set, then you can rinse out the hair dye."
Yoichi nodded, too nervous to speak.
Twenty minutes later, Yoichi burst into Sanzou's office. "It worked! It looks fabulous." He spun around in a circle, showing off his single lock of purple hair. "Thank you, you did amazing work."
"If it's not too arrogant, I agree." Sanzou smiled. "You look great. The color suits you."
As if acting impulsively, Yoichi hugged Sanzou. It was not impulsive at all. He tensed, ready to play it off casually if he got pushed away. Instead, Sanzou chuckled and hugged him back. He had a big, warm, muscular body. It felt safe, being held in those arms.
"Could you help me again? I want one on the other side to be symmetrical." Yoichi touched his hair. "Oh! And half a dozen more streaks around my head."
"What, you want me to mix up more dye right now?" Sanzou looked down at the document he'd been typing on his computer.
"Please? Pretty please?" Yoichi pouted and batted his eyelashes. He watched carefully for the slightest indication that Sanzou could be moved, since that would mean Sanzou might be interested in him as well. Yoichi knew he'd captured Kaiji's attraction. He'd yet to be able to get a strong read on Sanzou. His breath hitched. This meant more to him then he would dare admit to even himself.
"Oh, very well." Sanzou closed his computer. There it was in his eyes, just a glimmering of that fond exasperation from someone who secretly enjoyed being helpful.
Deeply satisfied, Yoichi smiled.
They returned to the bathroom. Sitting very still and letting Sanzou paint his hair, Yoichi asked, "Do you think that Kaiji will like my new hair?"
"He would hardly dare not to, since he'd be insulting both your style and my skills." Sanzou pulled out another piece of aluminum foil with one hand, his other holding the lock of hair.
"Since you gave your permission to chase him, I don't suppose you'd give me some tips?" Yoichi batted his eyelashes again.
"What do I get out of helping you seduce my boyfriend?" Sanzou asked, teasing and clearly amused.
Yoichi flashed his most devilish smirk. "You get a threesome, obviously."
Sanzou's pupils dilated. Immediately, he said, "Kaiji's ears are sensitive. He finds combat capability very hot. Oh, and he secretly likes being bossed around."
"I can work with that." Yoichi winked. "How about you, handsome? What do you like?"
"You can ask Kaiji," Sanzou said cheerfully.
Yoichi's eyes widened. Since Kaiji almost certainly wouldn't tell him right now, this rang like a challenge. He hadn't expected that answer, but an element of difficulty only made him more intrigued.
For the first time since his escape from the vault, Yoichi had a new purpose: to seduce two hot heroes. Perhaps this wasn't the most noble goal, but it filled him with a zest for life that he'd been missing. His future still felt like a black hole he would rather not think about. But now he looked forward to tomorrow.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: An Unlikely Consensus
Kaiji: I'm pissed off at Yoichi because people won't stop talking about that kiss and now I'll never get the stain off my reputation.
Hisashi: Me, too. Ugh, did I agree with the brother thief about something? I've decided to erase this from my memory so I no longer have to feel so icky.
#Actually Hisashi still does not know about the kiss #Everyone is happier that way #Especially Kaiji who is spared the horror of agreeing with AFO about something
#
Omake: All for One's Opinion
Hisashi: If Yoichi dyes his hair purple, then I have to dye mine to match! Therefore I should have been consulted on this decision.
Yoichi: No, you don't. I'd really prefer it if you don't copy me.
Hisashi: On second thought I'd rather force Yoichi to bleach his hair white again.
#
Omake: Very Unfair—How is Hisashi Supposed to Look Better in Comparison When the Kidnappers Keep Treating His Brother with Kindness?
Hisashi: I've been brotherless for a week now. The withdrawal symptoms are severe. I'm on the verge of total mental collapse, but I must keep going because my darling twin needs me to rescue him. I shudder to think of how those dreadful vigilantes must be torturing him.
Yoichi: One week without my brother and life is better than ever! I feel so free. I've realized that without Hisashi's possessiveness, I can have a love life. Just thinking of how angry he'd be gives me the warm fuzzies. Hmm, do I want to seduce one hot hero or two? After so long stuck with a curfew by a controlling brother, I think I deserve both.
Author's Note: This chapter has been blessed with beautiful art by Artistic Hermit. Continuing the throne theme, I commissioned Yoichi lounging on his throne with Second and Third. I adore how Yoichi's dyed hair turned out. It's the perfect villain Yoichi look! The poses are wonderful, Second looks suave with his jacket over his shoulder. I like to think of this picture as Yoichi and his lovers chilling in a happy future where they won. Delete the spaces to get the link:
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The vigilante OCs introduced in this chapter belong to Space_Cryptid from their prologue fic "On My Own, No Clue What's Next" on Ao3. Thanks so much for letting me use your wonderful OCs! They were such an interesting bunch that I wanted to introduce them into my own pre-canon universe as well.
Yoichi's stockpiling quirk is indeed making him sick. He was born with quirk-related cellular degeneration. Ironically, in this AU Yoichi would have died because of quirk strain but he got better after his brother took his quirk. That's why Yoichi got released from the hospital shortly after Hisashi accidentally stole his power as a child. Hisashi saved his brother's life but he'll never realize it. Even more ironically, getting a new quirk is once against starting to kill Yoichi…